Unless your sales team is given quotas for each product, there's no conceivable plan product managers can execute to meet revenue goals for their products. When they do meet their goals, it's pure luck. There's a better approach that doesn't rely on luck and is more conducive to the success of the organization.

The best sales presentations are the ones that create a relaxed environment for the buyers. The more relaxed they are, the easier it is for salespeople to uncover their real buying motivations and communicate stronger value propositions.

Why should I buy from your company? How do you compare with (competitor name)? In B2B, these are common questions prospective buyers ultimately want answered whether they ask them directly or not. The less your buyers have to work to understand your value, the better your odds of converting them into customers.

Features tell us how a product does something but in most cases they don't tell us what it accomplishes or why we care in a context that's conducive to communicating business value. User stories are the heart and soul of agile development. When written in proper context, they can live on long after product development and offer tremendous value to marketing and sales.

Three Tactics That Make Agile Releases Easier for Marketing & Sales to Digest

by John Mansour |
08.09.2012

“I need a constant stream of new features and solutions to stay ahead of our competitors.” “Slow down! I can’t learn all the new functionality that fast.” “Can you accelerate the delivery of feature X? The competition is killing us on that one.”

What’s the appropriate cadence of agile releases that would satisfy marketing and sales?

How Product Marketing Can Help Salespeople Call Higher in the Organization

by John Mansour |
12.19.2011

Most B2B companies want their sales people calling higher in the organization because direct access to executives can wire deals in their favor and shorten sales cycles. But why do many companies find it so difficult to get executive access? It has a lot more to do with your value propositions than you think, and the remedy starts with Product Marketing.